Do I really need a solicitor?

I am approached fairly regularly by people who have gone
to court without a solicitor because they’re “just pleading guilty” and it’s a “simple
case” only to find that they have been shafted by the court.

In the most recent example, I spoke to a man who has some
very ancient convictions from the 1980s and a more recent drink driving conviction
from 2005. The sentencing guidelines
indicate that somebody pleading not guilty should receive a driving disqualification
of between 36 and 52 months.

Having looked at the prosecution evidence there are no
aggravating features beyond the previous conviction, which the sentencing
guidelines take into account anyway.
There is always something to be said in mitigation, whether it’s
mitigation of the offence or personal mitigation. Although, having seen a number of
unrepresented defendant’s they rarely put their mitigation well.

If I had appeared at court I would have been advising this person to expect a disqualification of between 36-48 months plus unpaid work of around 200-hours, taking account of the fact he has no convictions for a decade and was pleading guilty.

The District Judge passing sentence decided to impose a
60-month driving ban without giving any reason why he was ignoring the
guidelines. He also failed to give the
defendant any discount for his early guilty plea also without any explanation.

The court should have advised on right of appeal to crown court within 21 days. If offender had been before a bench of J.P.s it is unlikely that that advice would not have been given. I personally made such avenue known to most unrepresented offenders in such or similar circumstances.

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I am a solicitor-advocate who specialises in motoring law with a particular interest in representing clients who have been charged with criminal driving offences involving alcohol, such as drink driving and failing to provide a specimen of breath.